[ BUSINESS BRIEFS ]

Staff writer, with Agencies

TAIEX rebounds on tax plans

The TAIEX yesterday staged a technical rebound to return to the 7,000-point level after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers revised their proposal on taxing capital gains on securities investments to make it more favorable to market movers, dealers said.

In the latest revision of a plan that observers feel is the most likely to make it through the legislature, major shareholders of listed companies and high-income earners will no longer be targeted by the plan, they said.

Despite the rebound, turnover stayed thin as market sentiment remained haunted by lingering concerns over debt problems in the eurozone, which has dragged down the global economy, they added.

The weighted index closed up 105.79 points, or 1.53 percent, at 7,000.45, after moving between 6,967.31 and 7,037.57, on turnover of NT$62.50 billion (US$2.08 billion).

At the end of the session, food shares scored the highest gains of the eight major sectors of the market, finishing up 2.62 percent.

Market-raised capital up 30%

The amount of capital raised on the nation’s main stock exchange in the first five months rose 30 percent to NT$29.25 billion from a year earlier, but the figure for last month fell month-on-month for the third straight month, Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp said yesterday.

Funds raised in last month totaled only NT$1.1 billion, compared with NT$2.5 billion a month earlier, the third consecutive month in which the figure declined.

The figures do not include the value of private placements, overseas depositary receipts, overseas corporate bonds and employee stock options.

Forex reserves drop

Foreign exchange reserves totaled US$389.28 billion as of the end of last month, down US$5.8 billion from a month earlier, the central bank said yesterday.

“The net outflow of foreign capital was the main factor leading the decline of foreign exchanges reserves last month,” Lin Sun-yuan (林孫源), director-general of the bank’s foreign exchange department, told a press briefing.

Meanwhile, the euro and other major currencies depreciated against the greenback, further making foreign exchange reserves denominate in these currencies worth less in terms of the base currency, the US dollar, Lin said.

The data showed Taiwan continues to have the world’s fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves, just behind China, Japan and Russia.

S&P maintains FPG ratings

Standard & Poor’s yesterday said its credit ratings on the four core companies of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) were not affected by weak market conditions in the second quarter, but maintained its “negative” outlook on their “BBB+” ratings.

The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.05 to close at NT$30.000 after the local bourse staged a technical rebound, boosting demand for the local currency, dealers said.